The “Van” Attack

A small “van” attack was carried out just hours ago by a non muslim driver against Muslims praying taraweeh (a sort of prayer) in the Finsbury Park in north London.

The crowd of Muslim worshipers while leaving the mosque late at night (because taraweeh take up a lot of time and effort) were run over by a white non muslim.

The man drove the van over the group, injuring at least ten people (reference: the daily mail). A white suspect has been arrested, but more than six hours have passed without a clear investigation.

Police have not yet confirmed any of that information, only stating one person was arrested and multiple people have been injured.

Ten people. That’s ten families devastated in a single minute of frenzy. The number included an old man who died, even though a brother tried to perform CPR on him.

The media is calling this murder a “van” attack. I can draw my bets that in the next few hours, it will be confirmed that the one who drove the van over was a poor, drunk, mentally unstable Non Muslim. He won’t be called a terrorist, his actions won’t be pinned on his religion and his family won’t suffer abuse because of what he did.

A bit of facts, along with my commentary:-

The BBC understands Mr Osborne grew up in Weston-super-Mare, and has four children.

The Metropolitan Police said he was being held on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism including murder and attempted murder( Noticed the use of term Mr and suspicion)BBC also mentions that this guy was taken to hospital as a precaution.
( Isn’t that so clear obvious double standard)
According to another news paper the suspect is a white van driver( may I ask the religion of that driver . Did any news paper or news channel mentioned religion of this person?)
In the hours immediately following the attack, the Metropolitan Police in public statements described it as a “vehicle in collision with pedestrians.”

At around 3 a.m. a London police spokesman told CNN it was “too early” to say if it was a terrorist attack.
In danish news paper the headline on this incident reads that the mosque imam saved this person from being killed angry people.(Note how the choice of what get published as headlines is interesting)

Talking about choice of words, here is how the headline of this news on Mirror Newspaper sounded:

Finsbury Park: One arrested and “a number of casualties” after van hits pedestrians “leaving mosque after prayers”.

While on the other news which sounds against Muslims (and I strongly condemn the actions of this individual who calls himself a Muslim but lacks the basic virtues of one):-

Muslim driver mounted pavement and ploughed into five men after getting angry at ‘racial abuse’ during Ramadan fast.

This is the same story, just look at the choice of words and punctuation. No defined number, just “number of casualties“. The word “van” Was any mention made of the driver of the van, or his religion? No, it was blamed on him, and him alone. While the mention of word “Muslim” in the second headline pins it all down on Islam. Oh, and instead of mentioning the name of the attacker in the first news, just use the word “van“. Lets all just accuse the van for existing then. Problem solved.

There are times such as these which make me wonder as to how blind this world is. How a Muslim can never be mentally unstable, and how a Non Muslim can never be a terrorist. Because being a terrorist is not just “Allah o Akbar”, this is just a taboo that we’ve fabricated. This, killing people who haven’t wronged you, is terrorism. Targeting people who just want to pray to their Lord is terrorism. Blaming the actions of a few minority on the entire nation is terrorism.

Yesterday, my country won against its arch enemy, India. At the last wicket, somewhere along 9 o clock, my house, my neighbour’s house, and every other place where the fans of Pakistan Cricket team had gathered, went up with the cry of “Allah o Akbar“, The Lord is the Greatest. There was no blast. There were no gun fires. There was no tick-tock-you’re-dead.

No. Just a few tears, the beauty of Sujood* and pure happiness at the victory of Pakistan.

Is there any use of screaming this at the world? I want to tell you people how enchanting that victory was for all of us, that swelling of pride, that rich smile on father’s face, that way Mom decided that the occasion demanded a special dinner. The way my brother couldn’t stop grinning,the way my best friends couldn’t help sending memes from all over the Internet. And that feeling of happiness, that rare feeling that you have won. This is the time when you admit the greatness of God, and appreciate His help, when you bow down to Allah, and praise Him. When you understand the miracles of Ramadan (my brother and I actually prayed for this win), this is the time to use Allah o Akbar.

Stop the taboo on this. Stop the taboo on us Muslims.

The victory was, however unfortunately, short-lived. There then came the news of the ten who died in London, and that sick feeling that the one responsible will never be blamed. There will be excuses. Mental issues. Drinking issues. Everything except terrorism.

But yet, I feel immense pleasure at how peacefully the muslims responded. They handed over the man to the police without hurting him, the killer, the murderer. He’s going to get away, but there it is, another proof thrown at the face of the world.

The media can call it what they want: “a crazy man’s attack”,” drunk driving”,” mental health issue”,” van attack”.But you and I both know what this is.

A terrorist attack, against the Muslims.

(*Sujood: the lowering of the entire body towards Allah, in the position where the forehead touches the ground.)

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9 thoughts on “The “Van” Attack”

So you know, the first two newspapers I read this morning here in the U.S. both referred to it as an act of terrorism, which is exactly what it was, along with being a hate crime. So sad. I wish everyone would just stop.

“LONDON — The authorities in Britain said on Monday that they were treating an early morning attack near a mosque in London as an act of terrorism directed toward Muslims, amid fears of retaliation for several recent assaults in the country attributed to Islamist extremists.”

It’s easy to become insulated. Certainly there are people in America who fear and distrust Muslims, but there are good people too who believe people of all faiths (or no faith) should be able to live together in harmony. Don’t give up hope!

I loved this post and agree so much. There was too much tragedy for us Muslims yesterday with the news of Nabra Hassanen and this terrorist attack, all week before Eid. I wrote something about Nabra if you’re interested in checking it out, but in the meantime, great post! I’m a fan.

VICEDOMINI OF THE WUP New Name, New Location! Welcome to our poetry corner, The Poets’ Corner NEW SITE! The name has been changed to (our) because it belongs to all of us who post! Sincerely hope you find the change easy and exciting to be here! Please feel free to post and comment your thoughts so we all can enjoy!